Tag: Click-baiting

Barcelona activate buyout clause for Bellerin

Diego Simeone will be the new Arsenal manager

Supersub Giroud gives Wenger ultimatum: “Use me or lose me!”

Every day, dubious websites throw up headlines like these to try and entice you into visiting their posts. They lure you with the most controversial, titillating or insulting titles they can concoct. They troll you. They play on your insecurities. They promise exclusive news scoops, ITK access and behind-the-scenes intel.

Basically, they put a stinky chunk of mutton on a hook, wrap it up in cashmere, and then dangle it out in public: hoping – knowing – that curiosity will eventually get the better of the wolf in all of us.

It’s called click-baiting, and it has become endemic.

That’s because it works. And it is very, very profitable.

The juicier the headline – the more people click on it.

The more people click on it, the more relevance it is given – in search engines, and on news aggregators.

The more relevance it is given, the more likely it is to shoulder out genuine articles, written by actual Arsenal fans, with real and informed opinions.Every day another website pops up, throwing out misleading and sensational headlines, which link to articles that are irrelevant.

Yes – the articles ARE irrelevant.

What is relevant is that you have been lured onto their website, where you are confronted by any number of insidious and invasive adverts. Pop-overs, pop-unders, rollovers, click-throughs and interstitials… these are the ways that advertisers force you to view their junk, and they are the ONLY reason that these websites exist. Every click makes them money.

Lots of money.

And, as competition grows more fierce, the headlines get wilder, and the cycle continues…

Genuine Arsenal bloggers agree: they can not compete with the fake, clickbait news sites, with their rumours, half-truths and outright fabrications. Their voices are being drowned out by the noise. Their posts are lost in the gluttonous, click-bait, feeding-frenzy that has devoured the Arsenal blogosphere.

Where articles used to get thousands of views, and scores of comments – writers are now getting hundreds of views, and little – if any – interaction with fellow Gooners. Blogging is a labour of love to begin with. Blogging to no-one is a joyless and depressing task. And many fantastic bloggers are calling it quits.

This is depressing. Tacticians, statisticians, long-time supporters and passionate sofa-managers all contribute to the football fan experience – shedding light, sharing anecdotes, and illuminating the Arsenal Way.

If you are tired of sifting through the noise, clicking through endless ads or being left uninspired or downright cheated by these charlatans, then you have come to the right place.

Welcome to The Highbury Library.

We were formed in 2016 by a group of concerned Arsenal bloggers. Concerned because it seemed as if we were facing a losing battle. Concerned because a number of our colleagues were throwing in the towel, and giving up writing about the Club we all love. Concerned because we realised that outside forces had identified a passionate market, and found a way to suck that passion dry and turn it into money.

So we decided to make a difference. To do all the hard work for you, so that you didn’t waste your precious lunch-break, teatime or chill-time trying to find a decent Arsenal blog to read.

As they publish a new article – we post it here, with a short excerpt. We link back to their websites so that you can read the full article. Their websites get the hits, and their bloggers get to interact with you – the reader.

Around the clock, we collect quality posts from Gooners across the globe.

We will add new, authentic websites as we grow. Our aim is to provide you with original content, free from the snapping jaws of click-bait and invasive advertising.

We hope that you will bookmark The Highbury Library in your browsers. Or add us to your device homescreen. Make us your Arsenal Launch Page.